Apostilles and Authentications

Apostilles and Authentications are certifications of a state notary's signature or county official's signature on a document. An apostille is a form of certification set by countries belonging to the Hague Convention. An authentication is a form of certification used by all other countries not in the Hague Convention.

Documents that may require an apostille or authentication are:

• birth or death certificates
• marriage licenses
• divorce decrees
• documentation for overseas adoptions
• school transcripts
• school diplomas or degrees
• any business documentation for overseas
• Power of Attorney documents

The Process of Requesting an Apostille or Authentication

Submitting the Apostille/Authentication Request and Payment

Submitting the Request Order/Payment

• Option 1: You may submit your request and payment for Apostilles or Authentications online through the https://business.nebraska.gov. Payment can be made with a credit or debit card when you submit the request online. You must submit the documents to be authenticated either by mail or in person when you pay online.
  

• Option 2: You may submit a printed Certification Request Form with payment by check or money order when submitting documents by mail or in person. Please make all checks payable to Nebraska Secretary of State.

What to Include

Documents must be issued by Nebraska officials, otherwise, the Secretary of State's office cannot authenticate them.

The fee for an Apostille or Authentication is $10 per document/notarization, regardless of the number of pages. If a document has multiple signatures and has been notarized by different notaries, the $10 fee will be charged for each notarization. Over or underpayments will delay processing and may result in documents being returned unprocessed.

When requesting an apostille or authentication it is important to include the following:

• If you complete the Certification Request Form available online, you must include the receipt from the online transaction with the original document signed by a Nebraska notary or county or state official when mailing the documents to our office.
• If you do not wish to complete the online form, please complete and include your Certification Request Form.

• Original document signed by a Nebraska notary or state or county official

Mail-In Service

You must include either the online or paper certification request form with the original document signed by a Nebraska notary or state or county official. We recommend that you consider using a priority (tracking) service when submitting original documents to us.

Requests that do not include a return envelope or mailing label will be sent using standard postage to the address on the request form. We are not responsible for documents that are lost in the mail.

Normal processing time is 3 – 5 business days from receipt.

Walk-Ins

Requests for certification for Walk-Ins will be handled immediately by a staff member and completed that day.

Send your apostille or authentication request to:

Nebraska Secretary of State
Notary Division
PO Box 95104
Lincoln, NE 68509

or

Nebraska Secretary of State
Notary Division
1201 N Street, Suite 120
Lincoln, NE 68508

For assistance, please email sos.notary@nebraska.gov or call (402)471-2558